Jacob and Esau
Twin brothers, a stolen blessing
This story includes lies inside a family and a brother who plans to kill his brother.
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- A verse number shows the Bible’s exact words.
- An underlined word shows what it means.
Story
What happened?
Tap a verse number, like , to read the Bible’s exact words.
Who’s who and what came beforePeople, places, and the story so far. Open it anytime.
Scene Card
Cast
- Isaac: Abraham's son. He marries Rebekah at forty. By the end of this story he is old and nearly blind.
- Rebekah: Isaac's wife. Her brother is Laban, who lives far away in Haran.
- Esau: The older twin. A hunter who loves the open fields. He is also called Edom.
- Jacob: The younger twin. A quiet man who stays near the tents. Much later, God gives him a second name, Israel (Genesis 32:28).
Setting
- Canaan, the land God promised to Abraham's family. The family lives in tents and keeps flocks of goats (27:9).
When
- Long before Moses, many centuries before Jesus. The story runs from before the twins are born until they are grown men.
Before the Story
God made a promise to this family. God promised Abraham that his family would become a great nation. All the families of the earth would be blessed through them (Genesis 12:2-3).
Isaac was the son of that promise. Abraham and Sarah waited many years for him (Genesis 21:1-5).
Who will carry the promise next? Isaac will have two sons. This story asks which one will lead the family after him.
Here's what you know that almost nobody in this story knows: God did not choose this family because they were good. Before the story ends, every one of them does something wrong.
Map of the Story
| Scene | Verses | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1. A hard pregnancy | 25:19-23 | Rebekah is pregnant with twins. God speaks to her |
| 2. Twins | 25:24-26 | Esau is born first. Jacob holds his heel |
| 3. Favorites | 25:27-28 | Isaac loves Esau. Rebekah loves Jacob |
| 4. The red stew | 25:29-34 | Esau sells his birthright for a meal |
| 5. Isaac is old | 27:1-4 | Isaac plans to bless Esau |
| 6. Rebekah's plan | 27:5-17 | Rebekah dresses Jacob up as Esau |
| 7. "I am Esau" | 27:18-29 | Jacob lies. Isaac blesses him |
| 8. A loud and bitter cry | 27:30-40 | Esau comes back too late |
| 9. Jacob runs | 27:41-45 | Esau plans to kill Jacob. Jacob flees |
Plain Retelling
Scene 1 of 9A Hard Pregnancy
Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah. For many years they had no children. Rebekah was barren. That means she could not get pregnant.
Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife. LORD in capital letters stands for God's personal name. Jewish readers traditionally don't say it aloud, out of respect.
The LORD heard Isaac's prayer. Rebekah became pregnant.
But the pregnancy was hard. The babies struggled with each other inside her. Rebekah was troubled. She said, "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to ask the LORD.
The LORD answered her. "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated" (25:23).
God also said something surprising. "The older will serve the younger" (25:23). Back then, the oldest son usually led the family. God turned that order upside down.
Scene 2 of 9Twins
When the time came, Rebekah gave birth to twins.
The first baby came out red. He was covered with hair "like a fur coat" (25:25). This is a comparison. His body was very hairy. They named him Esau.
Then his brother came out. His hand was holding on to Esau's heel. They named him Jacob.
Isaac was sixty years old now. He and Rebekah had waited about twenty years for these boys.
Scene 3 of 9Favorites
The boys grew up very different. Esau became a skillful hunter. He loved the open fields. Jacob was a quiet man. He stayed at home among the tents.
Isaac loved Esau, because Isaac liked to eat the wild game Esau brought home. Rebekah loved Jacob.
Each parent had a favorite son. This favoritism was a real family problem. It would cause hurt for years.
Scene 4 of 9The Red Stew
One day Jacob was cooking stew. Esau came in from the field. He was famished. That means very, very hungry.
Esau said, "Let me eat some of that red stew. I'm starving." Because of this red stew, Esau was also called Edom. Edom sounds like the Hebrew word for "red."
Jacob answered, "First sell me your birthright" (25:31).
A birthright was the special right of the firstborn son. When the father died, the firstborn got a double share of what the father owned (Deuteronomy 21:17). He also became the head of the family.
Esau said, "Look, I am about to die. What good is a birthright to me?"
Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So Esau made the promise. He sold his birthright to Jacob.
Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew. Esau ate and drank. Then he got up and left.
The Bible says, "Thus Esau despised his birthright" (25:34). Esau treated his birthright as if it were worth less than a meal. And Jacob had used his brother's hunger to get what he wanted.
Halfway thereThis is a good place for a break. Your spot is saved on this device.
Scene 5 of 9Isaac Is Old
Many years passed. Isaac grew old. His eyes were so weak that he could not see.
Isaac called for Esau, his older son.
Isaac said, "I am old. I don't know when I will die." He told Esau to take his bow and hunt some game. Then Esau should cook the tasty food Isaac loved, "so that I may bless you before I die" (27:4).
A father's blessing was a prayer and a promise for a son's whole future. Isaac meant it for his favorite, Esau.
But God had said something different. Remember, before the twins were born, God said the older would serve the younger.
Scene 6 of 9Rebekah's Plan
Rebekah was listening. When Esau went out to hunt, she went to Jacob. She told him what she had heard.
"Now, my son, listen to me. Do exactly what I tell you." She told Jacob to bring two young goats from the flock. She would cook them the way Isaac liked. Then Jacob would take the food to Isaac and get the blessing.
Jacob was worried. "My brother Esau is a hairy man, but my skin is smooth. What if my father touches me?" Then Isaac would know that Jacob was a deceiver. A deceiver is someone who tricks people on purpose. Jacob might get a curse instead of a blessing.
Jacob did not say the plan was wrong. He was afraid of getting caught.
Rebekah said, "Let the curse fall on me, my son. Do what I say."
So Jacob brought the goats, and Rebekah cooked them. She dressed Jacob in Esau's best clothes. She put the goat skins on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. Then she handed him the food and the bread.
The Bible doesn't say why Rebekah made this plan. But remember: God had already promised that the older would serve the younger. God did not need a lie to keep that promise.
Scene 7 of 9"I Am Esau"
Jacob went in to his father. "My father," he said. Isaac answered, "Which one are you, my son?"
Jacob lied. "I am Esau, your firstborn" (27:19).
Isaac asked, "How did you find it so fast?" Jacob said the LORD had brought it to him. That was a lie too. Jacob used God's name to make his lie sound true.
Isaac touched him and felt the hairy hands. He said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau" (27:22).
Isaac asked again, "Are you really my son Esau?" Jacob said, "I am."
Isaac ate and drank. Jacob kissed him. Isaac smelled Esau's clothes, and he blessed Jacob.
Isaac prayed that God would give Jacob dew from the sky and rich land, with plenty of grain and wine. "May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers" (27:29).
Scene 8 of 9A Loud and Bitter Cry
Jacob had barely left when Esau came back from hunting. Esau cooked his food and brought it in. "My father, sit up and eat, so that you may bless me."
Isaac said, "Who are you?" Esau answered, "I am Esau, your firstborn son."
Isaac began to shake all over. He was in shock. Someone else had brought him food. Isaac had already blessed that person. "And indeed, he will be blessed" (27:33).
Esau heard his father's words. "He let out a loud and bitter cry" (27:34). He begged, "Bless me too, O my father!" (27:34).
Esau's pain was real. His own brother had tricked him. His father's blessing was gone. This was grief. The story does not laugh at Esau.
Isaac said, "Your brother came and tricked you. He took your blessing."
Esau said, "Isn't he rightly named Jacob? He has cheated me twice." Esau meant that Jacob's name fit him. First Jacob took the birthright. Now he had taken the blessing.
Esau asked, "Haven't you saved a blessing for me?" Isaac said he had already made Jacob Esau's master. "What is left that I can do for you, my son?"
Esau asked, "Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me too." Then Esau wept out loud.
Isaac's words for Esau were hard to hear. Esau would live away from the rich land. He would live by the sword and serve his brother. But when Esau rebelled, he would break free from his brother's rule.
Scene 9 of 9Jacob Runs
Esau held a grudge. A grudge is anger you keep holding on to. Esau said to himself that his father would die soon. Then he would kill his brother Jacob.
Rebekah heard about Esau's plan. She sent for Jacob and warned him.
"Run to my brother Laban in Haran," she said. "Stay with him until your brother is no longer angry and forgets what you did. Then I will send for you."
Then Rebekah said, "Why should I lose both of you in one day?" (27:45). Rebekah was afraid of losing both her sons on the same day.
The lie had worked. Jacob had the blessing. But now Jacob had to leave home alone, because his brother wanted to kill him. Years later, Jacob's uncle Laban would trick him too.
But God still had plans for Jacob. On the road, Jacob stopped for the night. He dreamed of a ladder reaching up to heaven. The LORD stood above it and said, "Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go" (28:15).
Twenty years later, the brothers met again. Jacob was afraid. "Esau, however, ran to him and embraced him" (33:4). They both wept.
God kept his promise to a family that did not deserve it.
Meaning
What does it mean?
Read It
What Does This Mean?
| The text says | It means |
|---|---|
| "The older will serve the younger" (25:23) | God chose the younger son before either twin was born. This turned the usual order upside down. |
| "First sell me your birthright" (25:31) | Jacob used Esau's hunger to get the rights of the firstborn. |
| "Thus Esau despised his birthright" (25:34) | Esau treated something precious as worth less than one meal. |
| "So that I may bless you before I die" (27:4) | A father's last blessing passed on the family's future, and God's promise with it. |
| "I am Esau, your firstborn" (27:19) | Jacob lied to his blind father, face to face. |
| "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau" (27:22) | Isaac had doubts. The disguise fooled his hands, not his ears. |
| "He let out a loud and bitter cry" (27:34) | Esau's grief was deep and real. The Bible does not hide it. |
| "Why should I lose both of you in one day?" (27:45) | Rebekah feared she would lose both sons at once. |
Back Then
The name Esau means "hairy." (Easton's Bible Dictionary) The Bible connects it to how he looked when he was born (25:25).
The name Jacob means "one who follows on another's heels." It can also mean "one who takes another's place." (Easton's Bible Dictionary) That is why Esau says Jacob is "rightly named" (27:36).
Edom means "red." Esau's family later became the nation of Edom, south of the Dead Sea. (Easton's Bible Dictionary)
The birthright belonged to the firstborn son. It usually meant a double share of the father's property and leadership of the family (Deuteronomy 21:17). (Easton's Bible Dictionary)
Lentils are seeds that look like small beans. The red stew Jacob cooked was made from them. (Smith's Bible Dictionary)
Literal Reader Alert
Does the Bible say lying is okay if it works? No. The Bible tells what Jacob did. It does not praise it. Isaac calls it deceit (27:35). Esau calls it cheating (27:36). Then trouble follows. Jacob has to run for his life, and years later his uncle Laban deceives him (29:25). The Bible never tells of Rebekah seeing Jacob again.
Did God need the lie? No. God made the promise before the twins were born (25:23). The people in this story grabbed at something God had already promised to give.
"Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated"? Paul quotes these words in Romans 9:13. They first come from the prophet Malachi, who was speaking about two nations, Israel and Edom (Malachi 1:2-3). In Hebrew, "love" and "hate" can mean "choose" and "not choose." They can also mean "love more" and "love less." Genesis shows this. Jacob "loved Rachel more than Leah" (Genesis 29:30). The next verse calls Leah "unloved," using the Hebrew word for "hated." Jesus speaks this way too (Luke 14:26). Paul's point is that God chose "before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad" (Romans 9:11). It was "not by works but by Him who calls" (Romans 9:12). It does not mean God felt hatred for Esau the man. Lutherans teach that God's choosing is a choosing to save. God does not choose anyone to be lost (Formula of Concord, Article 11). Esau later had a large, rich family (33:9, 36:1-8). Christians have struggled with this passage for a long time. Careful readers still disagree about all Paul meant. Paul was writing about his own people, Israel. He also wrote, "For God's gifts and His call are irrevocable" (Romans 11:29). When God's choosing feels frightening, look to Jesus. He says, "The one who comes to Me I will never drive away" (John 6:37).
Esau planned to kill his brother? Yes. Esau was badly hurt. His anger grew into a plan. The story takes his pain seriously. It does not say his plan was right, and he never carried it out. If you are so angry that you want to hurt someone, or someone is threatening you, tell a trusted adult today. If you are in danger, call 911 or your local emergency number. In the United States, you can call or text 988 any time. Outside the United States, findahelpline.com lists free helplines. If this story brings up big feelings, talk with a parent, pastor, or trusted adult.
How People Feel
| Who | Feeling | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Rebekah | Troubled | The babies struggled inside her (25:22) |
| Isaac | Shocked | He learned he had blessed the wrong son (27:33) |
| Esau | Heartbroken | His brother took his blessing (27:34, 27:38) |
| Esau | Angry | He held a grudge and planned to kill Jacob (27:41) |
| Rebekah | Afraid | She could lose both sons in one day (27:45) |
| Jacob | Afraid | His brother wanted him dead (27:42, 32:11) |
For you
What does it mean for me?
Your Turn
Who do you feel like today? Tap one.
Angry, like Esau
Esau had real reasons to be hurt. His anger was not the end of his story. Twenty years later he ran to hug his brother. Tell God and a trusted adult how angry you are.
Guilty, like Jacob
Jacob lied, and it cost him. God still met him on the road with a promise: "I am with you." In Jesus, God forgives you and does not leave you.
Not the favorite
Being loved less at home hurts, and that hurt is real. God's love for you is not a contest you have to win. God sees you.
Alone and far away
Jacob left home alone and slept with a stone for a pillow (28:11). That is where God met him. God is with you in lonely places too.
It's really bad right now
Please tell a trusted adult today. In the U.S., you can call or text 988 any time. If you are in danger, call 911 or your local emergency number. Outside the U.S., find a helpline at findahelpline.com.
You Might Have Heard
"Don't be like Esau. He threw away something precious for a bowl of soup."
What's true: Esau did despise his birthright (25:34). The letter to the Hebrews warns readers not to be like Esau, "who for a single meal sold his birthright" (Hebrews 12:16).
What the story is mainly about: Nobody in this story comes out looking good. Jacob cheated his brother and lied to his father. Rebekah planned the lie. Isaac played favorites. The story is mainly about God, who made a promise before anyone had done anything, and kept it through all of them.
Where Jesus is: Jacob dreamed of a ladder with God's angels going up and down on it (28:12). Jesus used the same picture about himself. "You will all see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man" (John 1:51). This is a comparison. Like the ladder in Jacob's dream, Jesus connects heaven and earth. Through Jesus, God comes to people who do not deserve it.
Good News
Jacob did not earn God's promise. He got his father's blessing by lying. Jacob was alone on the road, and God came to him anyway. God said, "I will not leave you" (28:15).
God often works this way. Luther taught a theology of the cross. In this teaching, God often works where we would not expect, through weak and unlikely people. God does this not because they are good, but because God is good.
Jacob came to his father wearing his brother's clothes to take a blessing that was not his. In Baptism, God gives you a blessing that is not yours by right either. Paul says, "All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (Galatians 3:27). This is no trick. It is a gift. The Holy Spirit gives you faith to receive it.
God's promise does not depend on how good we are. It depends on God, who keeps it.
Big Idea
God kept his promise through a family of favorites and lies, because his grace depends on him, not on us.
If this story brings up big feelings, talk with someone you trust, like a parent, pastor, or counselor.
For leaders and parentsLuther, church readings, and notes for teaching.
From Luther
Luther wrote the Heidelberg Disputation in 1518. In it he said, "The love of God does not find, but creates, that which is pleasing to it" (Thesis 28). Applied to this story: God did not find anything lovable in Jacob to choose. God's love came first.
In the Small Catechism, Luther explains the Eighth Commandment, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." He says we should fear and love God so that we do not lie about, betray, or slander our neighbor. Instead, we should defend our neighbor and speak well of them. Jacob's lie shows why this commandment matters. That last sentence is our own application, not Luther's words.
In Church
Many churches follow the Revised Common Lectionary. In Year A, it reads Genesis 25:19-34 in July (Lectionary 15, Proper 10). The next Sunday it reads Jacob's ladder dream, Genesis 28:10-19a. Genesis 27 is not read on a Sunday.
We quote Luther for what he got right about grace. He also wrote terrible things about Jewish people. Read our note on that.
Memorize
How do I keep it?
One line from this story to learn by heart. Practice a little now. It will come back later so it sticks.
Look, I am with you, and I will watch over you wherever you go
How did that feel?